The Return of the Prodigal Son

We got home from our trip to see Doris Feinand just in time for our visio divina session last Wednesday afternoon. Pastor Elisa had asked for suggestions for an image, and I had suggested the painting by Rembrandt titled, The Return of the Prodigal Son which is housed in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. I knew of it mainly from the writings of Henri Nouwen, who devoted an entire book to a meditation on this painting, a book which I had read and was very moved by back when I was still an Assistant Minister at the Guilford Community Church - the late 1980s and early 90s.

Nouwen's book************************************************* Pastor Elisa sent out the image ahead of time and people responded to it. I think everyone found it to be a powerful image, responding to the love, forgiveness, compassion that it expresses, and various details: the father's hands, the son's bare foot, the father's eyes, the contrasts of light and dark, the impoverished clothes of the son and the rich robe of the father, the enigmatic figure standing at the right, etc. We did not have time to go into it in great detail, but it was a good discussion. Here is a better reproduction of the painting:

The original painting is more than life-size - 8 feet high by six feet wide. Judging from Nouwen's description, it is incredibly moving to stand before the original painting - very different from looking at a little picture. I, of course, have never been to the Hermitage in Russia and seen the original, but I feel I have had a somewhat similar experience. In Glen Falls, NY, at a museum called The Hyde Collection, , I have stood before a life-sized portrait of Jesus ( The original is c. 4 feet high by 3 feet wide), attributed to Rembrandt (the curator of the Hyde Collection seems to feel it is authentic). Here it is:

It hangs in what was the original Library of the home of the Hydes, a local well-to-do couple of the early 20th century, whose donated art collection served as the core of what is now the Hyde Collection, including this Rembrandt. It is the only painting hanging in the Library. To stand before it and look directly into the eyes of Jesus, who is himself looking directly at you, is quite a powerful experience. So I can at least imagine what it is like to stand before The Return of the Prodigal Son.